Islamabad: A day after signing the defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey at Mecca, Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif urged the “Islamic NATO” to address the “challenges” of India and Israel.
The joint agreement commits the three member nations to treat an armed attack on one member as an attack on all. This key principle has drawn comparisons to NATO’s Article 5, which states that an armed attack against one member in Europe is considered an attack against them all.
In a renewed effort to cast his country as a victim of terrorism, Asif described it as a “shared threat” across Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. “Indian-backed elements operating from Afghanistan drive terrorist activities against Pakistan”, he said in an interview to a Pakistani news channel that was accessed by CNN-News18.
New Delhi has consistently maintained that Islamabad uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy, leading to major diplomatic and military actions, including the 2025 cross-border conflict between the two neighbouring countries in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Ongoing regional conflicts — including the recent military confrontation with India — require “official handling rather than media debate”, the Pakistan defence minister said.
“Muslim nations need to create an expansive alliance structured similarly to NATO”, he said. “Member states must bypass bilateral disputes to form a unified defensive block.”
Asif said that the current tensions in the region highlight the urgency for “collective Islamic diplomacy”, while addressing the ongoing war in West Asia — involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
“The establishment of Israel and its ongoing policies require a unified response from Islamic nation”, he claimed, adding: “Normalizing relations with Israel offers no benefit to Muslim nations”.
While Pakistan seeks to maintain ties with Washington, it continues its long-standing criticism of Israel, one of America’s closest allies.
Solidarity with Palestine remains an “essential condition” for regional Islamic policy, Asif said.
This comes after Pakistan’s failed effort to broker peace between the US and Iran. The Middle East conflict that started on February 28, witnessed a brief lull, before resuming. One of the outcomes is the challenges that commercial shipping continues to face while crossing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.